Thursday, September 20, 2012

EVERYBODY IS ANXIOUS

Oh boy, things we count on can't be counted on. Things we stand for are shaky. Things we want seem unobtainable.

A job with a future ? Who’s looking out for you? Big government?

Gee, state and local governments are shrinking. Numbers from polls, surveys, researchers say: more than 500,000 employees have been dismissed since 2009. California laid off 11% of its teachers -- 32,000 of them.

Numbers -- there are numbers that tell us Latinos are the country's largest non-European majority. U.S. is becoming a country in which whites are no longer a majority.

Blacks and whites have told pollsters, "It's troubling," "It's happening too quickly," It's hanging up the nation's character and values." African-Americans fear that ethnic change is reviving antique prejudices that seemed to be fading away. Surveys show that while only 10 percent of a city’s whites harbor negative feelings about blacks, 60 percent of the city’s Hispanics definitely do.

Numbers -- scary bad numbers -- warn young and poor families (headed by guys under 35 ) that they’re going to be 70 percent poorer today than they were in 1984, because of lower wages, more expensive housing, and student debt.

For high-school graduates, the numbers are dire. They’ll earn less, they’re far less likely to be protected by health insurance. Compared with the last generation, their chances of marrying, staying married, appear to have collapsed.

Back in 1959, which has been called the golden age of the American middle class, it was a world where you dreamed of rising, and you could, maybe, rise.

Has the golden legend of America, the promise of a better economic future for its citizens, finally reached an end?

Golly, when can you retire? Will Medicare still exist when you need it? Rich or poor, we all get old, and then older still -- if one lives to age 65, he or she can expect to live nearly 20 more years. Gee, can you live on what’s left of your savings? Do you have any savings?

STOP!

Zip up your mind. Don’t look at the numbers. To hell with numbers.Remember this poem by -- what’s his name -- that famous poet ? Forget the name. It’s a long poem. Just use the verses that make sense to you right now

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,Life is but an empty dream!For the soul is dead that slumbers,And things are not what they seem.Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,Is our destined end or way;But to act, that each tomorrowFind us farther than today.

Let us then be up and doing,With a heart for any fate;Still achieving, still pursuing,Learn to labor and to wait

Hey, if that’s not enough to refocus your mind and comfort you, here’s what Plato said: "A GOOD DECISION IS BASED ON KNOWLEDGE AND NOT ON NUMBERS "

Repeat Plato's words, keep them in mind, if you decide to watch this video clip.

I believe life and the appearance of issues is all a matter of perception.

The old question of "is the glass half full or half empty?" comes to mind. My answer is that it is completely full. Half with water and half with air. It is all in you view the world in front of you. YOU are in control of your own destiny. It is not determined by the media, the public opinion, nor the naysayers in the world. We are humans and we are meant to adapt. We are meant to adapt to changes in life and we can make the difference.

Ms. Em has said this a million times..... Ok, not a million, but her words have told us in the simplest of terms...... Enjoy life...... And she is doing just that

An election is coming up in November...change presidents! Create jobs! Stop the wild government spending! Remember what made us great! Allow individuals to take themselves as far as their talents allow! Give Education more options! "Speak softly and carry a big stick."

Good blog and the stats are scary. But, I am a positive happy person and would rather not worry about the future. Remember that song you posted awhile back with Frank Sinatra singing High hopes? Lol! I have high hopes too! kam

I try not to take notice of numbers. It's enough to frighten the life out f you. Dwelling on the scary numbers won't change anything, I like to lean towards hope. Hope for a better tomorrow with more tolerance, less poverty and everybody appreciating what they have. A pipe dream? Maybe, but better than lusting after only the material things and you never know what will happen in the future.

HOW I GOT HERE

I started out as a modern dancer, contemporary, but balletic. I didn't want to be a swan, or a barefoot dancer. I wanted to dance to the music that thrilled me as a child, and made me want to be a dancer.

I began writing in the truck my first husband, Mark Ryder and I bought, in order to carry our set, props, and costumes for a long one-night-stands tour -- eighty-eighty performances in eighty-eight cities.

We were performing "Romeo and Juliet" nightly, but our marriage was breaking up. Every day while our stage manager drove us two-hundred miles or so to the next booking, I'd type a detailed description of last night -- what we did well, what we argued about, and a travelogue about the town, and comments from the people at the nightly party.

Recovering from the trip and the divorce, I sent my "car book" to a friend who said -- "Em, it's great,but ..." And that became rewrites, and another book. Then, my marriage to actor John Cullum, and then a play that got produced, and another book, big hopes because a famous agent loved it.The title and concept changed five times -- now it's been published, finally, as "Somebody, Woman of the Century." You can buy it, or read about it and my other five novels on Emily Frankel.com